Showing posts with label Basketball. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Basketball. Show all posts

Thursday, March 3, 2016

Deseret News

In one game, BYU basketball blew out San Diego by 58 points shooting 57 percent. Then against Gonzaga, they shot only 33 percent overall. The 2016 BYU basketball team suffers from what could be considered multiple personalities, kind of like Jekyll and Hyde.

BYU basketball has struggled to stay consistent throughout the 2015-16 season. If the Cougars are to win the WCC Championship and make it to the Big Dance, they need to find a way to hold onto their consistent offensive firepower throughout tournament play.

At times, they look like an offensive juggernaut but then in easily winnable or crucial games, they struggle to find their already existent offensive firepower. The latest examples of this are the games stated above. The Cougars absolutely demolished San Diego by 58 points but then struggled against Gonzaga shooting only 33 percent as a team. However, it is encouraging that the Cougars can hang with a team like Gonzaga while shooting so poorly.

BYU beat projected NCAA tournament team, Belmont, 91-85 shooting 45 percent overall and an impressive 48 percent from three point land. They essentially shot lights out. But then came their game against the Utah Utes when they barely scored just 28 points in the first half. The Cougars defense also gave up 51 points in that first half.

When the Cougars beat LMU on the Lion's home floor, they shot an amazing 49 percent as a team. They then turned around and shot only 36 percent against Pepperdine in a game they lost 71-65. Against LMU they put up 91 points and then against Pepperdine, they put up only 65 points.

There are many other examples of the Cougars struggles but I am sure you get my point by now. Don't get me wrong, I believe BYU basketball has a very good team this year. When they have played at their best in a consistent manner, they are almost unstoppable. Sure, their defense could be improved but it did get better as the season went on. However, if the Hyde in BYU comes out during tournament play, the Cougars could be doomed to early exit from the WCC Tournament and a trip to the NIT.

Let's just hope the Cougars' will to survive and tenacity will take over and carry them throughout the tournament.

The Jekyll and Hyde inside BYU basketball

Read More

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Getty Images

The video below is sort of a short documentary produced by Vice Sports featuring the somewhat rise and fall of Jimmer Fredette.

Even in the NBA D-League, Jimmer's stardom has followed him. The video shows Jimmer's amazing accomplishments through his career and his struggles in trying to make it in the NBA. In the video, it even shows Ben Stiller meeting with Jimmer at one of his D-League games.


Video: Jimmer's journey from top to bottom

Read More

Monday, February 22, 2016

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune)

BYU basketball's hopes at an at-large bid for the Big Dance were dashed because of losses to lower level opponents like Pacific, Portland and Pepperdine. However, the possibility of a No. 1 seed in the West Coast Conference tournament is still very real for the Cougars if the right things happen as the WCC wraps up regular season play.

Currently, the Cougars sit in third place in the conference standings behind Gonzaga in second, and St. Mary's in first. The Cougars have a conference record of 12-4 going into the last two games of the regular season and both St. Mary's and Gonzaga are 13-3 in conference play.

With those circumstances, let's take a look at the different scenarios that would affect the Cougars' seeding in the WCC tournament.

St. Mary's wins their last two regular season games and BYU beats Portland and Gonzaga

St. Mary's would win the regular season conference title and they would clinch the No. 1 seed for the conference tournament. St. Mary's last two regular season games consist of Santa Clara and San Francisco.  BYU would win the tie breaker with Gonzaga and receive the No. 2 seed. The Cougars could face Portland, Pacific or Santa Clara in the quarterfinals.

St. Mary's wins their last two regular season games and BYU beats Portland but loses to Gonzaga

St. Mary's would take the No. 1 seed, Gonzaga would take the No. 2 seed and BYU would fall to the No. 3 seed. In this situation, BYU would most likely face San Francisco in the quarterfinals.

St. Mary's loses to either Santa Clara or San Francisco and BYU beats Portland and Gonzaga

St. Mary's, Gonzaga and BYU would all be tied atop the conference standings. The Cougars would take the No. 1 seed due to their better record against both the Gaels and the Zags. In this case, the Cougars could face San Diego, Loyola Marymount or Pacific in the conference tournament quarterfinals.

St. Mary's loses to either Santa Clara or San Francisco and BYU beats Portland but loses to Gonzaga

Gonzaga would take hold of the No. 1 seed surpassing St. Mary's for first place in the conference and they would win the regular season conference title. St. Mary's would be the No. 2 seed and BYU would be the No. 3 seed. As in the second situation above, the Cougars would likely face San Francisco in the conference tournament quarterfinals.

BYU loses to Portland

In any circumstance where BYU loses to Portland, they would essentially doom themselves to the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament. St. Mary's and Gonzaga could lose one of their two remaining conference games, but BYU would still receive the three seed. If St. Mary's and Gonzaga lost both of their two remaining games, BYU would then receive the No. 1 seed. However, that situation is highly unlikely.

However the tournament seeding shakes out, the Cougars will need to win the WCC tournament in order to get into the NCAA tournament. Most analysts are calling the West Coast Conference a one bid league. ESPN's Joe Lunardi's latest bracketology has both St. Mary's and Gonzaga in the tournament with St. Mary's as an 11 seed and Gonzaga as part of the Last Four In. If the Cougars beat the Zags, Gonzaga's at-large hopes could quickly disappear.

BYU basketball's WCC tournament seeding outlook

Read More

Friday, February 19, 2016

Photo: David Dow/NBA/Getty Images
HE. IS. BACK!

According to an ESPN report by Ian Begley, Jimmer Fredette will sign with the New York Knicks for another stint in the NBA.

The Knicks have an open roster spot that will be filled by Fredette and he should join the team next week according to the report.

Fredette has been playing for the Knicks D-League affiliate, the Westchester Knicks, where he has been averaging 22.3 points and 4.8 assists in 28 games. He was selected as a D-League All-Star and he also won MVP honors at the D-League All-Star game. He scored 35 points in that All-Star game, the most ever in the history of the event.

Fredette was a star at BYU before being selected as the 10th pick in the 2011 draft. He has played in 233 games over his career averaging 13.5 minutes a game and six points a game.


Jimmer Fredette reportedly to sign with the Knicks

Read More

Wednesday, January 27, 2016


BYU basketball may have beaten LMU by 11 in their first meeting of the season, but LMU sure gave BYU all they could handle.

The Cougars ended the second half down by 10 with a score of 50-40. Being down by 10 points at the half may not be the most glaring statistic. The Cougars gave up 50 points in the first half to a sub-500 team. However, the Cougars did get their act together in the second half and they were playing LMU on their home floor.

BYU didn’t struggle at all on offense putting up 91 points and boasting two players with 20 points or more. The Cougars need to be prepared though for another tough WCC match up. The WCC is visibly stronger this year and the seemingly harmless teams like LMU, Pepperdine and Portland continue to show up for their matchups against the Cougars.

Keys to watch for the Lions

Look for the Lions to try to limit the easy shot. In the last game, the Cougars definitely had their way in the second half outscoring the lions by 11 points. The Lions will try to limit the scoring of Chase Fischer and Kyle Davis who had their way against the Lions the last time they met this year. The Lions will also try to even out the rebounds being that the Cougars out rebounded them by 10 in the last game.

Keys to watch for the Cougars

Watch for the Cougars to try to take away the three point shot and limit Adom Jacko and Steve Haney. The Lions only shoot 34 percent as a team from behind the arc, but the Cougars allowed 11 made three pointers in their last contest with the Lions. On top of that, Jacko scored 26 points and Haney added another 18 with 5-10 three-point shooting. The Cougars will also keep a closer eye on Haney who only averages 10.9 points but was allowed to soar above that average last time around.

BYU vs. Loyola Marymount – What you need to know

Read More

Tuesday, January 19, 2016



BYU basketball beat Gonzaga on their home floor and it seemed to have all the momentum it needed heading through the rest of conference play. That momentum seemed to have lasted only a few days after losing to Portland on their home court.

Before the win at Gonzaga, their chances of a bid were hanging in the balance of the Dave Rose’s Cougars’ ability to secure solid wins. They struggled at the beginning of the season losing games they should have won. The win at the Kennel helped reinforce the Cougars’ chances of making the NCAA tournament. However, the loss to Portland has sent the Cougars’ chances of a tournament bid back onto life support.

Now the looming question is BYU basketball’s season salvageable?

The Cougars still have 12 regular season games left on their schedule. Most of those games are very manageable and should add another “W” to the win column. But with the Cougars’ apparent struggles on defense and offense, games against the likes of Pepperdine, Saint Mary’s, and Gonzaga will prove to be a real test for BYU.

The feeling is that BYU can’t afford any more losses. If they lose any more games, all they can do is focus on taking home the WCC Championship in order to secure and automatic bid. The Cougars already have five losses and an RPI ranking of 78. Last year, the Cougars had an RPI ranking of 38 heading into the NCAA tournament. Wins against Saint Mary’s and Gonzaga to close out the season are essential to boosting their RPI since the tournament committee relies so heavily on the RPI rankings.

The Cougars aren’t even halfway through conference play yet but feelings of uneasiness surround their tournament hopes. One can only wait and see how it all plays out.

Is BYU basketball's season salvageable?

Read More

Wednesday, January 6, 2016


It was announced today by Utah basketball coach Larry Krystkowiak that they will not visit the Marriott Center in 2016 for the regular rivarly matchup against BYU basketball.

BYU basketball released a statement made by head coach Dave Rose speaking about the cancellation of the long lasting yearly matchup between the Utes and Cougars. Rose said he doesn't disagree with the decision according to the release. Nothing was said as to why the game was cancelled. He also said that he knows fans and players would like to see the long standing rivarly continue. Who doesn't?

Since Utah joined the Pac-12 conference, there has been somewhat of a struggle to continue the rivarly play between BYU and Utah in primarily football. It seems that basketball has fallen victim too to this confusing relationship between the two schools that are separted by only 45 minutes of freeway. The yearly matchup for basketball goes back to 1909. The Utes and Cougars have played each other every year since then with the exception of 1944 due to World War II. According to the NCAA record book, the rivarly is tied for the seventh longest in college basketball history.

Amidst all this confusion, a question still remains, why has scheduling the fan-favorite rivarly game become so difficult between the two schools? Utah AD Chris Hill said in 2013 of the basketball rivalry, "We know we’re going to play every year.” Why has that changed all of a sudden? Other rivarly schools that are a part of different conferences, like Florida and Florida State, continue their rivarly matchups year after year. So why can't BYU and Utah do the same?

Regardless of these troubles, fans can only hope that the basketball rivarly will continue as football as.

Utah cancels 2016 basketball game against BYU

Read More

Monday, January 4, 2016


BYU basketball's Zac Selijaas could be considered the Big Man on Campus right now with his hot shooting from behind the three point line.

Seljaas is currently ranked #1 in the country in three-point shooting percentage, according the ESPN.com. He is shooting a whopping 62.2 percent from behind the arc. The next player in line with a 59.1 three-point shooting percentage is Lorenzo Cugini of the High Point Panthers. To give you a little perspective on his notable accomplishment, Kawhi Leonard of the San Antonio Spurs currently leads the NBA in three-point shooting percentage at 49.6 percent. Stephen Curry, the supposed three point god of the NBA is shooting 44.2 percent. However, he's made 141 of 319 three-point attempts. The NBA three-point line may be farther away from the basket, but for Seljaas to shoot 62.2 percent from three is no easy feat. 

Selijaas' hot hand has earned him more playing time from the big man Dave Rose. The Cougars' bench scoring at the beginning of the season was almost non-existent. Selijaas has provided that spark of the bench. He scored 25 points on 9-13 shooting against Central Michigan for heaven's sake. He is only a freshman which should give BYU Cougar fans a lot of hope as the season goes on and for the future.

However, as any fan knows, consistency is key. Seljaas needs to prove that he can be consistent. If he can stay consistent along BYU's three-point king, Chase Fischer, and the freshman standout, Nick Emery, the Cougars will be a true threat from behind the three-point line. Let's hope we see more of those three-point fingers being held up.

BYU's Zac Seljaas: The man on fire

Read More

Sunday, March 8, 2015


This weekend trip to to Vegas for the WCC basketball tournament has been full of a lack of sleep and awesome basketball games.
We arrived in Vegas late Friday night. We were very lucky to stay at Katelyn's house. He family is so kind to have let us crash at their place. Saturday was a lot of fun but super tiring. We wandered around the strip all afternoon until to the basketball games started at the Orleans Arena. We watched the Gonzaga game that was before BYU's game against Santa Clara.
BYU's game was so up and down. I think my stress levels increased because of that game. Thankfully Tyler Haws was clutch and hit the game winner with 2 seconds left.
Hopefully we can keep pushing through the tournament so that we can get an at large bid for the NCAA tournament. Go Cougs!

Vegas Tournament

Read More

Copyright © 2014 All Hail Brigham |Designed By Template Clue | Distributed By Gooyaabi Templates
Scroll To Top